If Liverpool and Everton both reach the Champions League it could have a
transformative effect on the city and on the futures of its two major
football clubs

One way or another, the Premier League trophy will be on parade in Liverpool this summer.

The International Festival of Business is held in the city this July and sponsors Barclays have agreed to provide the silverware for the gala dinner.

Brendan Rodgers is not alone in hoping it has red ribbons on it. There are few cities in the world that can measure their economic and social health in relation to the success of their football clubs, so the prospect of Liverpool and Everton participating in next year’s Champions League may prove a tale of urban as much as sporting rejuvenation.

Manchester City may yet reassert their recent superiority, but even if Manuel Pellegrini wins the Premier League, the revival of Merseyside football will be the story of the season, especially when you consider what one of their managers was saying at the end of another underwhelming season a year ago.

“At the moment, the strength of the Manchester clubs is overpowering,” he said. “We’re closing that gap but not close enough.”

David Moyes made these observations weeks before leaving Goodison Park for Old Trafford. In fairness to him, few were arguing. Liverpool were seventh, Everton sixth. Manchester United and City were completing another campaign in which they were the only title contenders.

If Liverpool and Everton are part of the European elite next season, it may be transformative. In the short term, it will re-establish Merseyside as a superpower of English football, but there might be long-term consequences for the respective boards.

Andy Snell is the director of international trade for Liverpool’s Chamber of Commerce. He says the knock-on effects of Champions League football have the potential to be much more profitable than when Liverpool were last in the competition in 2009. He feels the vibrancy of the managers at Anfield and Goodison is reflective of a changing mood in the city. “The city is in a much better place than the last time we welcomed Champions League visitors. There was a great feelgood factor around the capital of culture 2008 but now the city is in a much more mature place.

“If Liverpool were to win the Premier League this season, it would be perfect timing, It is a great opportunity to secure sustainable revenue streams in terms of season ticket sales and sponsorship deals to pay for the scheduled stadium redevelopment.

“Anfield is ready to expand with a waiting list of over 20,000 for season tickets, many of whom will be from outside the city. That comes with success and is good news for the economy if not always the traditionalist. Everton are a bit further behind but need the same development to keep pace with their wealthier counterparts challenging for the top four.

“The global profile which comes with Champions League football will attract more international students from China and South East Asia – students readily admit that they chose the city to study on the strength of their football allegiance.

“The way the city, Chamber of Commerce and the clubs welcome overseas political and trade ambassadors is much more sophisticated now and they leave with a fantastic impression to match their expectations of Liverpool.”

What makes this renaissance so attractive to neutrals is it is built largely on the successful application of romantic notions rather than significant financial change at the clubs.

Liverpool and Everton are no wealthier than they were this time last year, but in appointing managers of imagination they have been swept forward on a tidal wave of supreme optimism.

Rodgers and Roberto Martínez speak the same language, in identical tones. They live in the land of the positive thinker. Had Martínez been offered the Liverpool job in 2012, there is every reason to believe Everton chairman Bill Kenwright would have appointed Rodgers when Moyes left.

Just as Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Howard Kendall and Kenny Dalglish did in the Eighties, they are making the people of Liverpool sing louder and prouder.

When Moyes made his sobering observation a year ago, it was easy to explain – mostly through economics – why Liverpool and Everton had lost their way after exchanging league titles in the Eighties.

Manchester United’s success was undoubtedly down to Sir Alex Ferguson’s genius, but the club’s ability to grow was assisted by certain quirks of fortune.

Old Trafford’s setting in an industrial estate removed any residential issues when they sought planning permission to extend.

United were able to raise mega-millions for accumulating 20 titles compared to the moderate rewards when Liverpool won their 18th in 1990.

Liverpool and Everton were slow to embrace the rampantly commercial future, but geography did not help. Even now Liverpool have planning constraints to overcome to extend Anfield. Everton, bereft of the Champions League winnings, have been hunting investment for years.

Compare this to Manchester City – so similar to Everton for so long – whose transformation began with the Commonwealth Games of 2002. A new stadium, gift-wrapped, making them an attractive proposition when the Abu Dhabi royal family went window shopping for a Premier League club.

For all the optimism, the cautious will argue Liverpool and Everton have threatened to reassert themselves before, not least in 2005, but the infrastructure was not there to maintain it.

Fenway Sports Group and Bill Kenwright deserve praise for appointing men of vision and dynamism in their dugout. They know sustainability will only be achieved by matching this success off the pitch as much as on it.